POD POLL: Zazzle, RedBubble, CafePress or ???

[AKWesterman]

I had never heard of Zazzle! I will check it out. I have used ImageKind but never really devoted much time to it. Has anyone used Society 6???

[surreal]

Originally Posted by AKWesterman

I had never heard of Zazzle! I will check it out. I have used ImageKind but never really devoted much time to it. Has anyone used Society 6???

Hi,
I never used Society 6 before, but perhaps other artists have.

[clementine]

I just opened a store on Zazzle..not lot of products for the moment..have you some tips to promote it or to make it more attractive?
http://www.zazzle.com/akaclem
thanks!!
agnès 'clem'

[Flopka]

I've been getting a few things printed just for my own use, trying to find the POD company that does the best job. I've found Imagekind (which is now owned by Cafepress, BTW) to be frustratingly inconsistent in print quality. Images come back dull and dark, and when I thought I found the proper adjustments for the images I send them to get the print quality I want, it seemed to vary wildly (leaving me with some useless and expensive prints).

On a brighter note, a postcard-on-demand printing app called Simply Postcards produces stunningly good, color-true glossy 4x6 postcards - for $2 a pop they'll mail one to any address you want (such as, to yourself). Sometimes the cards do come through the mail with a little bit of postal mark on the front, but if you're looking to get a very nice 4x6 made for a portfolio album or whatever, you might want to give them a shot.

[surreal]

Originally Posted by Flopka

....................................

On a brighter note, a postcard-on-demand printing app called Simply Postcards produces stunningly good, color-true glossy 4x6 postcards - for $2 a pop they'll mail one to any address you want (such as, to yourself). Sometimes the cards do come through the mail with a little bit of postal mark on the front, but if you're looking to get a very nice 4x6 made for a portfolio album or whatever, you might want to give them a shot.

This is good to know about.
Thank you.

[surreal]

The poll posted on this thread was set up 2 years ago......

[EyeSpy]

Yep, this is an old one! These days, my choice for prints would be Fine Art America, followed by Zazzle -- with Zazzle being tops for cards and other collectible/gift items.

FAA wasn't even on the poll two years ago, but they've grown and improved dramatically!

[surreal]

Originally Posted by EyeSpy

Yep, this is an old one! These days, my choice for prints would be Fine Art America, followed by Zazzle -- with Zazzle being tops for cards and other collectible/gift items.

FAA wasn't even on the poll two years ago, but they've grown and improved dramatically!

Thanks so much!

[captcook]

Regarding FinerWorks, has anyone had experience with their other product Yakmonkey? It is currently in beta and is free.

[EyeSpy]

I've never heard of Yakmonkey, Tony, but will have a look. Thanks for the mention; it's always worth checking out a new site -- especially one with such an intriguing name.

[CarlyHardy]

Just read thru this again tonight. I'm still using Fine Art America with fair results...have print sales every couple of months. One of the things I really like about them is the personal attention to how a print will look...before it's printed. Last month they held up printing until I could send an image without a glare (I hadn't even noticed it when I uploaded). The same person who emailed me did follow up and sent a message when they got the new image so I would know the sale went thru.

Sales more than pay for the $30 yearly fee. But key is doing your own marketing and consistently uploading new images....and taking some out that have been there longer. It keeps your galleries looking fresher.

[surreal]

Originally Posted by CarlyHardy

...................................

Sales more than pay for the $30 yearly fee. But key is doing your own marketing and consistently uploading new images....and taking some out that have been there longer. It keeps your galleries looking fresher.

How often do you upload new images to FAA?
Thanks.

[EyeSpy]

Originally Posted by CarlyHardy

Last month they held up printing until I could send an image without a glare (I hadn't even noticed it when I uploaded).

Sales more than pay for the $30 yearly fee. But key is doing your own marketing and consistently uploading new images....and taking some out that have been there longer. It keeps your galleries looking fresher.

I'm still very pleased with how things are going at FAA, too. Though they can be slow to respond to more general or less critical service requests, they respond immediately to problems with print/file quality, like you mentioned above.

I rarely cull my online listings -- unless I happen to spot a flaw or some clean up/repair that's needed. Once I decide an image is ready for public consumption, I leave it up. But I do re-order my galleries -- frequently shifting things to the front for shared visibility. Also, I change my gallery logos every week or two, and add several new listing per week (frequently, even more often).

It's nice for repeat visitors to immediately see new or different images when they click into a gallery page.

I also tweak my keywords often; seems I'm always noticing relevant search terms that I forgot to include.

Forum participation, joining many Groups and frequently entering contests have also really juiced up my visibility (internally and SEO) at FAA.

I hope to have 500 listing there by the end of next week (I believe POD to be largely a numbers game), after which I'll take short break from FAA to get my Zazzle stores beefed up for the holidays.

~ sigh ~ An artist's work is never done . . .

[CarlyHardy]

Hey Nina!
I usually add new images every couple of weeks. A few months back I had some abstract pieces that I thought would make smaller paintings....so I took pics of parts of the paintings and posted them as new images. Some of them make nice series and I found that buyers liked getting two images with similar colors and subjects.

I also tweek my keywords. I checked out some of the other artists keywords and found that I was overlooking a lot of words...like abstract, contemporary, etc. Words that are more topical rather than literal.

I'm always amazed to see how often my images get viewed too. It is a big numbers game. I don't advertise on FB when I upload new images but some artists do. I joined a few groups at FAA but don't participate that much...just don't have the time!

[surreal]

Originally Posted by CarlyHardy

Hey Nina!
I usually add new images every couple of weeks. A few months back I had some abstract pieces that I thought would make smaller paintings....so I took pics of parts of the paintings and posted them as new images. Some of them make nice series and I found that buyers liked getting two images with similar colors and subjects.

I also tweek my keywords. I checked out some of the other artists keywords and found that I was overlooking a lot of words...like abstract, contemporary, etc. Words that are more topical rather than literal.

I'm always amazed to see how often my images get viewed too. It is a big numbers game. I don't advertise on FB when I upload new images but some artists do. I joined a few groups at FAA but don't participate that much...just don't have the time!

Thanks very much for you tips!
And, I wish you many more sales in the future!


I will work on my keywords...
I list artwork from time to time....
Although I have a good amount of views, I have had no sales this past year so far.